This series got underway on Tuesday, with the Milwaukee Brewers (52-43) dropping the contest against the Philadelphia Phillies (52-42) 4-3. Wednesday night will deliver another bout before this Thursday afternoon contest. With both teams fighting for October, this should be a tight game. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. EDT in Citizens Bank Park. Let's see what the Brewers and Phillies have in store before catching flights home.
tired: June Schwarber
wired: July Schwarber#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/9XPNoxDelk
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 18, 2023
First place in the NL Central is back in the Brewers' grasp. Now it's all about holding on. Pitching powers Milwaukee, and Corbin Burnes is back on the bump looking to make that happen. Burnes has led the Brewers to four consecutive wins. Over his last 19.0 innings pitched, he's only allowed four runs and six hits. He's also struck out 26 batters in that span. Burnes isn't having another Cy Young season, but he's still a starter that every team would want on the mound.
Especially for an underperforming offense like Milwaukee's. The Brewers are 25th in runs per game this season and in a bit of a slump. Between July 9 and July 18, Milwaukee only scored 12 runs over five games. MLB's third-highest walk rate can't overcome bottom-five numbers in strikeout rate, batting average, and slugging percentage. Even their impressive stolen base numbers aren't helping much. Struggling to get hits and clear fences is limiting Milwaukee's run-scoring consistency.